


A Dance for the King — Part V

by sporadic_obsession



Series: A Dance for the King - A Medieval SakuAtsu Story [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Belly Dancing, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, King Sakusa Kiyoomi, M/M, POV Sakusa Kiyoomi, Sakusa Kiyoomi is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:55:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28844934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sporadic_obsession/pseuds/sporadic_obsession
Summary: King Sakusa Kiyoomi thinks about how he got to this point.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Series: A Dance for the King - A Medieval SakuAtsu Story [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112663
Comments: 9
Kudos: 116





	A Dance for the King — Part V

**Author's Note:**

> I am so soft for Sakusa, who’s very bad at feelings but (spoiler!!!) very much in love.  
> If you wanna scream at me on twitter about this, you can find me [here](https://twitter.com/sprdc_obssn)!  
> 

The solitary king.

Sakusa Kiyoomi has heard the whispers from his staff, from the people he passes in town; he’s heard their comments and their guesses, and their jokes when they don’t know he’s listening. He’s heard all of it, and has never once made a single move to change their minds about him. It’s not like they complained about the way he ruled their kingdom, so he’s never minded.

Actually, he understands why they call him that.

He’s never been the most extroverted - even before he was made King, he avoided crowded rooms and having to spend more time than strictly necessary around other people if he could. His parents, bless them, were always understanding. So long as Kiyoomi kept to his studies, and learned everything his father taught him in regards to ruling the Kingdom that would eventually be his, they didn’t mind indulging his preference to keep to himself.

Of course, Kiyoomi knew that as soon as he was made King, he’d have to deal with the people. He’d have to hold banquets for nobles he’d rather not entertain, and listen to his people’s requests for aid in their darkest times. He knew all this, and he prepared himself for it accordingly.

Most of the time, Kiyoomi is elusive enough that anyone barely catches sight of him. He builds a royal court from the ground up after his father’s passing, ditching his old friends and confidents, and choosing from the people he’s watched evolve around him from a distance. There’s no hesitation when he appoints Akaashi Keiji as his personal advisor; there’s no doubt in his mind when he makes Bokuto Koutarou head of the royal guards, and grants Hinata Shouyou second-in-command. He doesn’t have to think twice when he hires Sugawara Koushi as his personal medic, or when he offers Azumane Asahi the spot as his tailor. These are decisions he has spent all of his adolescence pondering, and once he hits adulthood and becomes the King, the changes take effect immediately.

He’s not the same type of ruler as his father, either, despite learning all he knows from him. He’s not one to mingle with the people, drinking in their taverns and dancing in their town squares; he’s not one to head into a war hotheaded, nor is he one to spill blood recklessly. He’s level-headed, every single one of his actions calculated before he follows through. He measures the consequences and possible outcomes of various scenarios in his head before he decides to follow the best one. He has no time to waste on being entertained, waited on hand and foot like his father had been; he has much to think about, when it comes to ruling his kingdom.

He doesn’t mind the fact he hires men to appease his needs, on occasion; he pays boys his age who are willing to stay, but always lets them go after a couple of weeks - they become clingy, craving affection Kiyoomi doesn’t have in himself to give. Eventually, he gives up on that, even, and that’s when Bokuto decides to intervene.

He knows that, if he asks the head guard to stop trying to find entertainment for him, the man would take the order in stride, and give up his quest. Still, Kiyoomi decides to indulge him for a while when he sees the way his face lightens up whenever he comes up with a new suggestion. Despite his tendency for being alone, Bokuto Koutarou, more than a part of his court, is part of his very tight circle of friends. It seems almost contradictory, especially considering their opposite personalities, but Kiyoomi trusts the man and appreciates his company. As head of the royal guard, he spends the most time with him, protecting him from harm, even though Kiyoomi can very well hold himself in a fight, if the situation calls for it.

As time goes on, he never finds a good place to stop Bokuto’s attempts at finding him something to keep him busy when he needs a reprieve from his duties. He doesn’t have the heart to tell him he’s much too far into his head to find the space for something else, so he attends the appointments with the fools and the musicians, with the dancers and the singers, and he always gives Bokuto the same response, afterwards:

“It was alright.”

Kiyoomi thinks Bokuto will eventually give up; most likely after his advisor, Akaashi, talks some sense into him. Akaashi’s personality is much more alined with the King’s - quiet and pensive, thinking ahead, which is why he chose him as his advisor. Strangely, he’s also been lured in by Bokuto’s boisterous personality; in their case, even more surprisingly, they end up marrying in the castle gardens, with only a few of the staff members and the King in attendance. Kiyoomi doesn’t try to understand how their partnership works; it’s a mystery he’s resigned to never solve.

It’s in the dead of winter that his life changes.

They’re in one of their kingdom’s poorest towns, because Kiyoomi had been aghast to learn they could barely survive the cold that settled upon them. He’d requested his court to accompany him to one of the very few town visits he has ever proposed during his reign, and Kiyoomi is already thinking about the ways he can improve the lives of the townspeople. There are buildings falling apart that need mending, and the people need help with their businesses; Kiyoomi is more than willing to help.

When Bokuto mentions that he made an appointment with a dancer for him, he waves him off and agrees to meet this dancer without thinking further on it. He has many things to do, many plans to make, and Akaashi is right there with him, discussing the best course of action for long hours that pass much too quickly. When Akaashi reminds him of his appointment with the dancer, he almost tells him to ask Bokuto to cancel - he really has no time for this, today.

He doesn’t, however.

Instead, he clicks his tongue and huffs as he leaves his advisor’s tent, followed by two guards as he heads towards his own tent. Inside, there’s musicians waiting, as well as Bokuto with a pair of men. One dressed in modest clothing - a tunic that has seen better days and a pair of pants that’s most definitely coming apart at the seams. The other man is much more bare, a shirt tucked tight under his chest and exposing most of his torso, white pants flowing in the gentle breeze that passes as the flap of the tent’s entrance closes behind the King.

He wastes no time admiring, however; he walks briskly to his throne and keeps his expression impassive, urging the entertainer to go on.

He’s hypnotized from the very first second.

He’s never been prone to lose himself in anything but his royal duties, but he finds himself swimming inside his own head as he watches the man move. He’s elegant and alluring, his eyes in such a heated gaze that Kiyoomi isn’t sure he’s not going to burst into flames when he’s at the end of it. He moves with finesse, and the King feels like a snake charmed by the flute player, all of his body calling for this strange man that teases him with closeness, only to pull away at the last second.

When the moment is over, Kiyoomi doesn’t know what comes over him, but he knows he must have this man. He talks to Bokuto only paying half-attention to what he says, and can’t quite understand why his hands seem to be burning up with the need to touch until he’s standing just a foot away from the heat of this dancer. He can smell him from this close, and he isn’t sure why even the scent of him makes him want to taste; he doesn’t think twice about what he proposes, and when the man agrees to his terms, he feels relief flood him like he’s a dehydrated man drinking for the first time in days.

He’s only slightly upset when the man leaves him alone that day, disregarding the fact Kiyoomi cleared his day to spend with him.

He spends the rest of his day between talks with Akaashi of the actions to take in order to remedy the problems this town has fallen victim to, and thoughts of swinging hips that distract him more than once, even in his head. He’s more tired than he’s ever felt by the time he falls into sleep, and even in his dreams he can’t stop picturing the man’s beautiful eyes, wondering what his thighs would feel like under his touch.

They return to the castle the day after, the carriages that drive them going non-stop for two days at his orders, and Kiyoomi is disappointed to find the man - Miya Atsumu, he burns into his brain - hasn’t reached the castle yet.

When the days continue to pass without his arrival, Kiyoomi resigns to his fate - he must’ve thought better on his proposal and has decided to decline; he doesn’t blame the man. He’s beautiful, could have anyone he wanted, why would he settle for someone who barely opens up to the people he’s ruling? Why would he, with such a bright aura, willingly give himself to someone whose head resembled a dark abyss? It made no sense.

And yet.

When Kiyoomi sees Atsumu at the banquet, his brain tunes into him immediately. All complaints about tiredness escape his head, and he can only see him, hear him, follow him. He doesn’t mind the banquet as much as he usually did, since only his staff is in attendance, but still; he’d been looking for an excuse to retire to his quarters all through the ordeal. Not only is Miya Atsumu the perfect excuse, he genuinely can’t spend another second away from him.

Just the brief conversation with the man, the stake of his claim on such a gorgeous body for everyone to hear, is enough to light a fire long extinguished within him. He allows it to warm him and lead him through the motions of claiming this body in the intimacy of a bed they now share, the sound of his name falling from such lovely lips sending him almost into a craze.

It’s no wonder that Kiyoomi falls in love with him.

Besides his beautiful body - which the King can never get enough of, it seems - Atsumu has a beautiful soul has well. He sees it in the way he smiles kindly at the rest of the staff that bounces through the castle; can read it in the crinkles by his eyes whenever he finds himself particularly amused by one of his own stories. The previous storm that occupied his brain clears slowly but surely, the sun rays breaking through the clouds at the sound of Atsumu’s laughter. Kiyoomi doesn’t say much, unsure how to voice his emotions, but he does what he can - he gets him clothes, has someone plant his favorite flowers, offers his brother books when he off-handedly mentions that he’s finished reading the ones already in his room.

When a man dares put his hands on Atsumu, he kills for him.

Kiyoomi knows the stories that are told behind his back; the rumors of him killing people left and right for looking at him wrong. It’s a consequence of his usual stoic expression, he muses. Fact is, the King has never killed anyone willingly. He’s been engaged in battle and had to do what he could to survive, of course, but he’s never killed for the sake of it.

He can’t help it, however, when he sees Atsumu crying and bleeding on the floor of the throne room, terrified and trembling like he’s never seen him before.

He allows the nobleman to speak more than he should’ve; he’s known from the moment he set eyes on Atsumu — _his Atsumu —_ with tears streaming down his cheeks that whoever had hurt him was going to end up dead, and he’d be the one doing the killing. It’s an instinct stronger than his rationality, and he doesn’t even mind it.

Anything to protect his love.

“How dare you,” he whispers into the man’s ear, so low he’s sure no one else can understand the words, “touch my lover like that? How dare you make him bleed, and come here and demand I punish him?” He tugs a little harder at his hair, and watches a tear slide down the man’s cheek. “How dare you try to deceive me, your King, and have me hurt the man I love? I will slit your throat right here, right now, if he tells me to. I will gut you and break every single one of your bones if he asks me to. You better pray he doesn’t.”

When Atsumu asks Kiyoomi to kill him, Kiyoomi doesn’t hesitate.

Later that day, after he’s calmed Atsumu enough that he settles into sleep over their comforter on the bed, he scrubs his skin raw to get rid of the stains the man’s blood has left on him. Still, he doesn’t regret it — his only regret is not being able to protect him earlier, so he vows to make sure no one even has a slight chance of going near enough his lover to hurt him.

He spends the next week stuck to Atsumu’s side. He holds his hand as they walk through the castle, finds himself smiling whenever he bickers with his twin; he listens to him read a story he’s heard a thousand times before, and returns the favor right before they go to sleep. He cherishes the slow kisses they share while they make love, feels his heart soar when he wakes to the feeling of Atsumu caressing him gently. He whispers sweet nothings to him as he holds him if he wakes up shivering in the middle of the night, and he offers him all he has to give.

There’s only one thing left to give, in the end.

The day of the ball dawns upon them, and this time, it’s Kiyoomi who’s gently touching Atsumu as day breaks. He’s running his fingers down his arms, chest warm where his dancer’s back is leaning into, hair tickling his chin where he rests it on top of his lover’s head. His legs are spread as he holds Atsumu between them in his sleep, calculating his next action and pondering in the consequences. He sees every scenario, imagines all possible outcomes, but always comes to the same conclusion:

He will marry Miya Atsumu, no matter what.

He uses the time away from his lover to procure a ring. Luckily for him, Azumane is in a relationship with the jeweler, and together they manage to figure out Atsumu’s ring size (using one of the few rings he owns for that) and a simple design for his engagement ring. Nishinoya, the excitable jeweler that he is, wastes no time in getting it ready. It takes him the time of getting Kiyoomi ready for the ball to have the ring finished, nested into a beautiful black velvet box he’s had made before. Kiyoomi thanks the man with more emotion than any of the staff are used to seeing from him, and then he’s on his way.

Bokuto accompanies him to the ball, and stands to his right as he sits on his throne. To his left, he’s arranged to have his mother’s old throne placed, instead of the measly chair Atsumu has been using all week. He adjusts his clothes more than once as he waits for the man to arrive, hoping his mantle is visible enough to make it clear it matches the skirt he chose for Atsumu to wear.

When he does arrive, Kiyoomi can tell immediately that something is wrong.

Although Atsumu dances as perfectly as he always has, there’s something in what he can see of his expression that’s a little too forced, his smirk a little too tight to be genuine. Kiyoomi observes him, leaning forward to be able to read him better, and sees the sadness swimming in his eyes in a passing moment. It’s not until they’re dancing together and he feels Atsumu distance himself from him, even though they stand so close, that he’s sure something is wrong.

That doesn’t mean he’s prepared for what he hears fall from those beautiful lips, however.

Each word cuts like a knife, and Kiyoomi wonders if he’s being sliced open or stabbed through - can’t decide which would be worse. He listens, frozen, to Atsumu’s parting words, and can’t even move enough to return his farewell kiss or stop him from leaving. He stares at his departing figure until he’s out of sight, and it feels like the silence is going to consume every particle of his being if he stands in it much longer.

“Oh my God, he’s a fuckin’ idiot.” The words cut through the heavy atmosphere, the tone familiar, and Kiyoomi finally snaps out of it, watching as Miya Osamu walks out of the room after his brother.

He considers his options, then. He could go after Atsumu and force him to stay; as the King, he has enough power to do so. He could stay here and pretend he’s not feeling his heart break inside his chest, and allow him to leave like he said he’s going to. Each of these options leave a bitter feeling in his mouth he doesn’t appreciate, but, for once, he can’t come up with any other solutions.

The King who prides himself on always seeing things through to the end can’t see past his own heartbreak.

“Sakusa,” he hears the hiss from beside him, and finds Bokuto glaring at him. “Go after him. He’ll stay if you ask him to. If you show him why he can.”

The words settle over Kiyoomi’s brain, and a new option appears before him. He analyzes the words Atsumu used, realizes what Bokuto means; he doesn’t think he can stay because he doesn’t think he’s worthy. Had Kiyoomi really not been able to convey to him how much he fits in here, right by his side? If he can show him and assure him that he can stay, that he wants him to, he’s sure he’ll be able to keep him.

He moves through the castle in a hurry, afraid he’ll be just a moment too late, but is happy to find Osamu still at the door of his quarters, obviously trying to reason with Atsumu from where he stands.

“He got a new fuckin’ throne in the room for ya an’ yer stupid ass is leavin’? Are ya serious?” He hears Osamu ask, and wonders if Atsumu didn’t realize; if he believes it’s meant for someone else.

As if Kiyoomi could ever love someone else.

“Wha- no, no he didn’t. He couldn’t. I’m no one, I don’- he said it was just sex. Dancing and sex. No courtin’. No marryin’. That he’s done this before. Yer wrong.” He struggles to pierce together the words, Atsumu’s voice heavy with a sadness so loud it’s almost deafening. Still, Kiyoomi hears them, and feels his heart break; he really hadn’t been clear enough with his feelings, had he?

“Well, did’ja ask him?”

“I—.”

“You should’ve.”

He speaks up before the conversation between the twins goes on any further, finding his chance to come clean. He nods at Osamu in thanks as the man leaves, and then he waits. Waits for Atsumu to speak up, to tell him why he’s trying to pull away from him, to explain why he can’t see himself the way Kiyoomi sees him. When he doesn’t, he decides to breach the subject himself.

He offers Atsumu a way out - he will not hold him here against his will, after all. As much as he loves the man, he will always prefer to know he is happy and free, even if that means he’ll lose him forever. He offers him the chance to leave, but not without letting him know exactly why he shouldn’t. He confesses his love, and he puts into words what he’s only been showing through actions, clearing up any misconceptions inside Atsumu’s brain. It’s not easy, but he pushes through it.

_Anything for Atsumu._

“Do. You. Love. Me?” He demands to know, because he needs to hear it; he needs to know whether he has a chance at happiness or not. If Atsumu tells him he doesn’t, he’ll let him go.

_**Anything** for Atsumu._

“Of course I do, Omi-Omi...”

That’s all he needs to hear to make up his mind. He allows Atsumu to speak, to explain his point of view, but fights his preconceptions with ease. Now that he knows he’s loved in return, he won’t allow Atsumu’s insecurities to ruin their future. For someone who doesn’t indulge in things, this is the one thing he won’t let go of. Even if he loses everything, even if he has to give up his title, he won’t allow himself to lose this man, now that he knows he’s loved.

“Ask me properly, Omi-Omi. Ask me properly an’ I’ll give ya my answer.”

Ah.

‘ _Anything for Atsumu_ ’, he thinks one last time, fondly.

Kiyoomi goes down on one knee and shows him the ring he had crafted just for him, a smile on his lips as he offers him all he has left to give.

“Miya Atsumu — will you marry me?”


End file.
